VIJAY IYER: Accelerando
ACT, 2012

MODERN JAZZ – A small masterpiece from longtime KZSU favorite Iyer. The focus is on rhythm and circular motion, with Iyer’s knotty piano complexity somehow coming across as perfectly relaxed and natural. As on his previous trio release, there’s a mix of tradition and futurism, several nods to pop and other genres (#6 is a Flying Lotus cover!), and incredible interplay amongst the trio. Outstanding stuff!

Note to DJs: his name is pronounced "VID-jay EYE-yer." Please don't say "VEE-jay."

Vijay Iyer : piano
Stephan Crump : bass
Marcus Gilmore : drums

All excellent. Fo’s Picks: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

1. 2:18 – rises from murky silence: dark angular melody against drum rumble
2. 7:23 – heavy churning becomes a propulsive groove, ominous storm clouds
3. 5:46 – funky stuttering beat and rolling piano (covers a late-‘70s disco tune)
4. 9:39 – Michael Jackson ballad stretched and deepened; lyrical & compelling
5. 4:10 – loose Herbie Nichols postbop: a thorny bounce with prominent bass
6. 4:33 – sparse beat, minimalist melody falls like rain, piano gets pretty busy
7. 7:17 – Henry Threadgill piece percolates and chugs like a nonstop machine
8. 4:56 – spins quietly to itself with brief piano swoops; energy builds in middle
9. 2:52 – off-center spirals: big, stuttering beat; grows ominous
10. 5:42 – quick, complex, spinning; breaks into blocky rhythms and rapid runs
11. 5:17 – folksy Duke Ellington melody grows from hymnlike to towering

[ Fo ] - March 2012